American Shite! Chevy Impala 3.8 V6 (Calling Eddy!)

[R9UKE]

OK it's no Buick or Cadillac but it's got three very important qualities for American rubbish: A pointlessly huge engine, column gear shift selector and a bench seat in the front.

 

It's a 2002 Chevrolet Impala 3.8 V6 and I had the pleasure of driving it today.

 

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C234917

 

Really nice retired couple moved over here in June 10 and brought it with them. They spent £1000 on the conversion as Canada apparently have different laws on the colour of lights, so it was much more than just stickers on the headlights, which they didn't realise until they got it here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It drives beautifully, the only fault being the ABS and Traction lights on. They said this happened during the conversion and that it passed the MOT like this. MOT and tax are now up and I'm unconvinced it'll pass with these lights burning.

 

I'm thinking of offering £500. They've had it advertised for ages, it's now sitting unused and lets face it, there's no market for it.

 

Thoughts?

[wuvvum]

If you can get it for £500 I say go for it. I've always liked the look of those things, especially from the back.

[cort16]

I would especially for 500 notes. I imagine getting parts and stuff would be pretty straight forward direct from the US.

They drove these in the wire and I always assumed they where Nissans.

[gtd2000]

What's the road tax like for something like this?

 

Have to admit I'm not keen on American shite - it just feels so cumbersome in general.

[eddyramrod]

I just looked at their ad for it. Bloody hell, even if you have to pay the asking price, it's a steal! Go for it! Listen, here is a commitment, in public, for all to see: Buy it, run it for a few months, and if you don't want it when I get to Barrow, I'll come over and get it, and give you your money back. I would drive that all day every day, with a grin on my chops.

 

So when you read that I've moved into my Barrow house, pm me and tell me yay or nay. If you don't want it, I'll enjoy it, and it'll be at every Autoshite-supported event I can get to in 2013. Now I can't make a much better offer than that, can I?

[dieselnutjob]

is it six seats like a multipla ?

[Richard]

I would think so, you can see the lap belt in the front seat.

[eddyramrod]

OK it's no Buick or Cadillac but it's got three very important qualities for American rubbish: A pointlessly huge engine, column gear shift selector and a bench seat in the front.

 

Actually it's closely related to both Buick and Cadillac, as they're all GM, just aimed at different buyers. I'm fairly sure the 3.8 in this is a direct descendent of the 3.8V6 that was in my 1980 Buick Century; just turned sideways to drive the front wheels. It's hardly "pointlessly huge" when you consider Jags and Merc routinely have 4.0 or above. Also, that isn't what I call a bench seat, even if it does have a lap belt in the middle (and presumably the armrest folds up). It's more like two big plush buckets with some cushioning between them. But yes, DNJ, 3+3 seating has been the norm (sorry ) in the US for many many years.

 

Jason Bourne knows how to drive these...

[Negative Creep]

Is it me or does it look somewhat Skyline esque?

[Albert Ross]

The ABS light fault WILL fail the UK MOT. Good reason to beat the price down!

[eddyramrod]

I see what you mean, NC; it's the rear view that does it, innit? Overall I think the Impala looks less aggressive than the Skyline. Not as passive as the Lumina I used to have though...

I mean look, there's no aggression whatsoever in that nose, is there? Was a lovely place to be, especially on a long drive. And this was a Canadian car too, having a dealer badge on the back from Kincardine, Ontario.

[oman5]

if you can get it for that price, well worth it, its new enough for parts to be available with little drama even in the UK. somewhere like USAutomotive have been very useful to me in the past. The later impalas are not everyone's cup of tea (FWD and they lost the small block v8 of the new york taxicab style impala/caprice but at this sort of money I reckon you'd be daft not to

[Felly Magic]

Paint it white, blues on the roof, instant free entry into shows....

[warren t claim]

The ABS light fault WILL fail the UK MOT. Good reason to beat the price down!

 

Swap the ABS light for the airbag light.

[eddyramrod]

Paint it white, blues on the roof, instant free entry into shows....

 

Silver is quite good enough, with a little detailing...

(Lifted from Chris Hahn's collection on Fotki.com, thanks Chris!)

 

Not saying that's what I'd do, but I do still own a complete set of blues and twos, which I left with my friend in Southport.....

[Albert Ross]

The ABS light fault WILL fail the UK MOT. Good reason to beat the price down!

 

Swap the ABS light for the airbag light.

 

RONG. As of 01/01/12, airbag warning lights must function according to Manufacturer's spec, if airbag fitted. However. A retrofitted stering wheel without airbag (not a removed airbag) may also fail! Same goes believe it or not, for drivers' seat fore-aft adjustment. Basically if it was designed and built to be adjustable, it still must be! MOTs suddenly got more wank overnight!

[Felly Magic]

The same goes for PAS warning lights on cars with electric PAS doesn't it?

[Albert Ross]

Yup, also stability control programme warning lights.. Yet we still can't remove wheel trims to see if all the wheelnuts are there...... but we CAN now remove danglies off mirrors. I tended to do this before I logged onto the test............. We get no more time or payment for checking any of this now though.

[Felly Magic]

I never hang owt from the rear view mirror, and Magic Tree air fresheners always go on the back grab handle (old habit from when I was a valeter), and I normally remove em for MOT test time. I also try and make the MOT testers job easier by giving the car a good clean and tidy out before test. I know it doesn't alter the outcome, but you guys don't want to be in a car that is a shit tip.

[Albert Ross]

It's always nice to get a bag of toffees with a "help yourself" note on the passenger seat though. It makes us blind sometimes.........

[warren t claim]

It's always nice to get a bag of toffees with a "help yourself" note on the passenger seat though. It makes us blind sometimes.........

£20 in the ashtray works just as well in my experience.

[Pete-M]

It's hardly "pointlessly huge" when you consider Jags and Merc routinely have 4.0 or above.

 

Jags and Mercs tend to get more than 7 bhp from their 4.0s...

 

The Jeep is a 4.0 straight six which produces 185 bhp / 214 lb ft

The Jag is a 4.0 straight six which produces 326 bhp (albeit with a supercharger) 376 lb ft

The 528i is a 2.8 straight six which produces 193 bhp / 207 lb ft.

 

Hmm. Methinks the Yanks lose this one.

[R9UKE]

I'll come over and get it, and give you your money back. I would drive that all day every day, with a grin on my chops.

 

I can't ask for better than that.

 

Right, I need to wait a few days and see how painful the MOT prep bill for the Avantime will be. Even if it is as horrific as I think it will be, I have a student loan payment coming on the 9th... you can guess how quickly that'll leave my account.

 

It's been for sale since July, I've only just seen it. It's not going anywhere. I reckon they will jump at £500. And I'll finally own American rubbish!

 

ABS and traction lights do concern me, I just hope some twat hasn't completely fucked it up in the conversion.

[eddyramrod]

Consider your hand firmly shaken on that then Luke! I fancy it, so even if you find you hate it, you know it'll go somewhere it'll be loved. Wait a minute... it's only 10 years old... it's FWD... it's silver... oh shit. Count me in anyway!

[R9UKE]

Consider your hand firmly shaken on that then Luke! I fancy it, so even if you find you hate it, you know it'll go somewhere it'll be loved. Wait a minute... it's only 10 years old... it's FWD... it's silver... oh shit. Count me in anyway!

 

Haha brilliant, this could work out very well. You mightn't even have to come over here, it's likely I'll be back and forward to the mainland quite a bit in the new year so I could bring it over and it'll be the perfect excuse to bring some ebay shite home

[eddyramrod]

That's true! I would say though, don't plan such a trip before summer, as we're still in Cyprus at the moment and we don't have a timescale for returning. It's definitely going to happen, and it'll be this year, but exactly when, I can't say yet. First we have to raise the money (by selling stuff, including the cars we have now) and then we have to find out when we'll lose our tenants. Can't really move in until they've gone, can we? It could be as late as September! At least you'll have had a good chance to find out how you like the Chevy... If you buy something "unseen" in the far north west, I can probably deal with collection for you, or take pics, inspect, whatever you might need.

 

Of course you might decide you love the Chevy and it's all off; if you do, well fairy nuff, good luck, have fun. You can't lose really.

[AnthonyG]

My mates got a 1988 Buick Park Avenue with that engine - they turned it transverse for the front engined 'full size' cars launched in 1985. Probably due to the fleet sales and the fact that Ford and Chrysler were making big money from their RWD full sizers, Chevy stayed with the RWD 'box' Caprice. The Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick brands all got a FWD big car - even Cadillac got a standard FWD De Ville, although the monster Fleetwood stayed RWD until about 1993.

 

Wiki sayz "Most Buick LeSabre and Park Avenue models from 1986 until 2005 were powered by Buick's 3.8 liter (231 cubic-inch) V6 engine. It started out with 150 horsepower. It added balance shafts and became the famous "3800" V6 for 1988, with 165 horsepower"

[eddyramrod]

That's good news. In the RWD Century I had, I always felt it could stand a bit more power. It had plenty for town work, but out on the motorway I would have liked the confidence to overtake. Of course in that model, the V6 was the base engine, there were V8s above which addressed the problem. My Lumina, which was FWD like the Impala under discussion, had a 3.1V6, and never felt underpowered... ...in fact it was easy to drive in, shall we say, a spirited manner!

[406V6]

I've driven numerous GM cars in the USA with the 3.8 V6 and loved the engine. Powerful and refined with plenty of low end torque and reasonable economy. The V6 in the 406 beats it for power though (waiting for someone to list an iteration of the GM engine with more power than the 210hp of the Peugeot but I'm talking more about the sheer feeling of power). The ride is bound to be pleasing in the Chevy but whether the cornering is suitable for NI roads is another matter. I would be concerned about the LHD: having driven LHD on UK roads I was never happy with the sub-optimal visibility. The ABS light is a definite worry and an MOT fail in the future as has been pointed out. Suggest you trawl around the forums to get an idea of what might have to be done to fix it.

[gtd2000]

LHD is an issue when overtaking trucks on 2-lane roads in my experience.

 

The only other problem is toll booths and drive thru type scenarios.

 

I've done RHD in LHD markets for many years as well but It's no big deal apart from overtaking. You just have to enjoy stepping out onto the pavement